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Locked In with Ian Bick

I Was a Rikers Island Prison Guard — Then I Got Fired | Nick Gojcaj

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.8745 Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2025

⏱️ 73 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Nick Gojcaj grew up in Queens dreaming of becoming an NYPD cop, but after that didn’t work out, he spent 20 years in the corporate world before making a drastic career change in his 40s—joining Rikers Island as a corrections officer. For three years he worked inside one of America’s most notorious jails, dealing with chaos, violence, and the daily dangers of being a prison guard, until a confrontation with inmates left him permanently disabled. Instead of protecting him, Rikers illegally terminated his job, sparking a legal battle that he’s still fighting today. In this episode, Nick opens up about his journey from the academy to life on the inside, the shocking realities of working at Rikers, and how he’s now exposing the system that betrayed him. #RikersIsland #PrisonGuard #CorrectionsOfficer #NYCPrisons #RikersStories #PrisonLife #LawEnforcement #CorruptionExposed Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Presented by Tyson 2.0 & Wooooo Energy: https://tyson20.com/ https://woooooenergy.com/ Use code LOCKEDIN for 20% OFF Wooooo Energy Buy Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop Timestamps: 00:00 Prison Realities and Riker's Introduction 00:19 Nick's Unusual Career Path 01:51 Favorite Episodes and Influential People 03:21 Union Perks, Disability, and Department Politics 04:23 Growing Up: Family and Childhood Influences 05:21 School Trouble and Early Aspirations 06:12 Drinking, Gambling, and Avoiding Trouble 08:09 Crime, Arrests, and a Flawed System 09:49 Stable Home vs. Turbulent Friends 10:57 From College Hopes to Law Enforcement Dreams 13:09 College Life and NYPD Rejection 14:35 Corporate World: Two Decades Lost 16:08 Career Pivot: Joining Corrections at 44 17:43 Correctional Academy: Training Realities 20:08 Academy vs. Real World at Rikers 22:47 Early Days on the Job & Learning from Inmates 26:03 Systemic Issues: Contraband, Corruption, and Challenges 29:39 Schedules, Overtime, and Hidden Job Hazards 33:09 Facing Reality: Dangerous Shifts, Staff Politics 36:14 Respect, Dignity, and Handling Inmates 39:41 Violence, Use of Force, and Officer Dilemmas 43:00 The Incident and Long-Term Injury 47:34 Aftermath: Desk Duty, Recovery, and Abrupt Firing 53:46 Legal Fight and Alleged Retaliation 58:39 Department Corruption and Favoritism 01:02:02 Lawsuit, Motivation, and Moving Forward 01:06:10 Advice, Support, and Closing Thoughts Powered by: Just Media House : https://www.justmediahouse.com/ Creative direction, design, assets, support by FWRD: https://www.fwrd.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Imagine if you're out there minding your business and stuff.

0:02.3

And let's say they want your commissary.

0:03.8

You as a regular kid, as a white-collar criminal, because essentially that's what you are.

0:08.3

You're going to be targeted.

0:17.2

You're no threat to me. I can take you on. This is what I do. I rob people. And you're not. So you're going to give in. And I'll just go into your cell while you're there. What are you going to do? Officers not going to do anything.

0:18.7

Because we're afraid to do our jobs.

0:22.2

Nick Goichai thought he was destined to wear the NYPD badge.

0:26.2

After studying criminal justice and chasing that dream, life took him down a different road, two decades in the corporate world. But in his 40s, Nick traded the desk for danger

0:32.1

stepping inside Rikers Island as a prison guard. Just three years into the job, a violent confrontation with inmates left him disabled,

0:40.3

and then, shockingly, illegally terminated.

0:43.4

Now he's fighting back, taking on one of the toughest systems in the country.

0:50.9

Nick, welcome to Lockton.

0:52.3

Thanks so much for coming.

0:53.5

Oh, thanks for having me, Ian. I really appreciate for you to guys giving this platform come out and tell my side of the story of what happened here with this case. It's really bizarre. And they need to be exposed. And I want to protect others who are in a similar situation as me. Yeah. And our audience really appreciates the Rikers Island stories. Yeah, yeah. I have some stories to tell, you know, that most people find cool and really out there. Yeah. And we were just talking out there about favorite episodes of the show. You asked me and Matt, what our favorite episodes were. Did you have a favorite of the show? In terms of, is it the Rikers Island stuff or just over the stuff on your channel? Yeah, yeah, you seemed really interesting. The one with the Wolf of Wall Street. Nadine. Yeah, that was really cool. Obviously, how many people have watched the Wolf of Wall Street? You know, it's a classic movie. And it's just like, oh, wow, his wife. Never did it in a million years. I think I'd be interviewing her, like when I was a kid watching that, because I came out in 2013 when I was a senior in high school. Right. So crazy to see it now. And her energy is great. Great storyteller, great speaker. Yeah, yeah. That one. I watched the Norman Seabrook episode. I'd never spoken to him. me and him are friends on social media. We DM each other,

2:02.8

but we've never actually met in person. And I'll tell you what, with everything that went on with him,

2:09.3

you know how many people speak highly of him? People speak about him. They're like, especially

2:12.9

the old timers there, who were under his regime. They speak about him like he's God.

2:18.8

Like he made things happen, the Department of Corrections.

2:21.9

He's a good man.

2:22.6

I like him.

2:23.7

I still don't understand what he technically did.

2:26.7

From what I understand, I don't know myself either, but something to do with the finances of the union funds.

...

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